John Straube is an Associate Professor joint-appointed to the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the School of Architecture at the University of Waterloo. He is also the Principal at RDH Building Science Inc., where he leads forensic investigations, hygrothermal measurement and analysis research projects, and design projects in the areas of low energy building design, highly durable building enclosures, new building materials and systems, and extreme climate buildings.
As a result of his research work, Professor Straube wrote the book “High Performance Enclosures” and also co-authored “Building Science for Building Enclosures” with Eric Burnett. Additionally, he was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award in Building Science Education from the National Consortium of Housing Research Centers (NCHRC).
Professor Straube is a member of CSA A371 Masonry Construction, Standards Committee, CAN/ULC S741-08 Standard for Air Barrier Materials, American Society of Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers and International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA) Canada.
Research Interests:
- Building performance (durability, energy efficiency, health, sustainability) as a function of use, climate regions, microclimates, etc.
- Heat air and moisture transport within building materials and systems and the resulting problems of freeze-thaw, corrosion, rot, mould, dissolution, etc. Modelling of same.
- New and sustainable building products, materials, and systems.
Current Sources of Research Funding:
- NSERC
- ASHRAE
- CMHC
- NRCan
- Royal Building Systems
- Durisol Materials
- Industry partners
Selected Publications:
- Straube, J.F. and Burnett, E.F.P., 'Rain Control and Design Strategies'. J. of Thermal Insulation and Building Envelopes, July 1999, pp. 41-56.
- Straube, J.F. and Burnett, E.F.P., 'Vents, Ventilation and Masonry Veneer Wall Systems', Proc. of the Eighth Canadian Masonry Symposium, Jasper, Alta., Canada, May 31-June 3, 1998, pp. 194-207.
- Straube, J.F. and Burnett, E.F.P., 'Simplified Prediction of Driving Rain Deposition'. Proc. of International Building Physics Conference, Eindhoven, September 18-21, 2000, pp. 375-382.
- Straube, J.F., Burnett, E.F.P., Gamble, M., Crowne, R., 'Polymer Concrete Beams Reinforced with GFRP Rods', Proceedings of CSCE/JSCE Int. Conf. on Eng. Materials, Ottawa, June 8-12, 1997, pp. 579-592.
Professional Affiliations:
- Director, Ontario Building Envelope Council
- Chair, the 8th Building Science and Technology Conference, February, 2001
- Member, National Institute of Building Sciences
- Board Member, Ecological Building Network